Unlocking the Chains
by milady78
Summary: Wesley receives an interesting phone call about an unknown cousin from Surrey.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Unlocking the Chains 1/?

**Author:** Milady78

**Fandoms:** Harry Potter and Angel

**Summary:** Wesley receives an interesting phone call about an unknown cousin from Surrey.

**Rating:** FR-13 Disclaimer: Everything related to Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. Everything from the B:tVS/A:tS verse belongs to Joss Whedon.

**S****tory Notes:** This story starts sometime between the episodes "Ground State" (4:2) and "The House Always Wins" (4:3) of Angel. The Potter-verse has been moved up 12 years. The title refers to two conversations between Wesley and Justine in "Deep Down" (4:1):

"We're always a slave, Justine. We just couldn't see the chains."

"You can continue being a slave, Justine. Or you can live your life. Your choice."

**Chapter Notes:** Some dialogue has been modified from the episodes "Forgiving" (3:17), "Double or Nothing" (3:18), "Deep Down" (4:1) and "Ground State" (4:2). Thanks to my beta deiticlast and the livejournal communities of britpickery, hp_britglish and little_details for all of their help.

**Chapter 1**

"**All glory comes from daring to begin." Eugene F. Ware**

_Wesley slowly steered the ship to the next search coordinates. Angel was somewhere beneath the black water. He just had to find the right spot. Keep searching. Don't think about Connor. Or prophecies. Or pillows. Just find him. _

_He heard Justine start speaking from behind him, "The great Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. Shining beacon of all that's good and pure. But oh wait, no. That's before he started banging the enemy and keeping a slave girl in his closet." That sounded familiar. She had said that before. He tried to respond as he had the last time, but found himself frozen, unable to speak or to move. _

_She continued on, "All your energy wasted to save that thing. For what? A happy ending? For everything like it was? He hates you. They all do. And they are never going to take you back."_

_Fred's voice echoed in the darkness,"The prophecy was false. Angel was never gonna hurt Connor. It was all for nothing…Don't come back to the hotel…ever." _

_"You are a pitiful disgrace." That was his father's voice filled with such disdain. "For more than 16 generations your family has honorably served the Council. Until you. One Slayer rejected you. The other tortured you. Fired from the Council. Then what do you do? Work for the Scourge of Europe. You are supposed to kill vampires, not work for them. You could not even succeed in that. Fired twice from that ignoble band of lowlifes. You are no son of mine." _

_Wesley was finally able to turn around only to find Angel walking out of the shadows towards him."Finding me. Bringing me up. Must've been hard for you. No map. All that water. Look what…what went down between us... I had a lot of time down there…to think. You know, about the way things went, the way they could've gone. I just want you to know, as far as I'm concerned …I should have killed you. You took my son. Did you ever think I was going to forgive you? You're gonna die!" Angel's face shifted to his demonic form. His glowing eyes and fangs were the last thing Wesley saw before the vampire latched onto his neck. _

**September 3, 2002**

Wesley jerked awake gasping for breath. As he rubbed his neck, he glanced at the clock. 6:13 in the morning. Less than two hours of sleep. One would think having vigorous sex with Lilah followed by three hours of hunting down and killing a group of Bohg'dar demons that had been bothering his client would have allowed him a night without dreams.

Apparently not.

As his breathing and heart rate returned to normal, he slowly drank from the glass of scotch that he had left on his bedside table. Drinking a glass of scotch in the middle of the night had become an all too frequent habit. He should be worried about it, but with images from the night's dream flashing before his eyes, he just couldn't care. It was hardly the worst of his new vices. Sleeping with Lilah was by far worse.

Before he could decide whether or not it was worth trying to go back to sleep, the telephone rang. "This better be damned important," he muttered to himself as he answered. "Pryce."

"Are you Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, son of Iris Wyndam-Pryce?" a woman with a British accent asked.

"Yes." Had something happened to his mother?

"My name is Lorraine Hughes. I'm calling in regards to your cousin, Petunia Dursley nee Evans."

"I've never had any contact with that side of the family. Try my Mother." He started to hang up.

"Sir, wait. We tried your mother. She informed us that she wanted nothing to do with the Evans family."

Of course she did. Father felt the Evanses were beneath the Wyndam-Pryces. As he frequently pointed out they had been Watchers for at least sixteen generations. It was closer to twenty if you followed the Pryce line back. Whether his father would ignore that branch of the family would largely depend on his mood. Some of the early Pryces had questionable reputations within the Watcher community.

The Evanses, a petite bourgeoisie family, from a dying mill town somewhere near Manchester, were unsuitable for them to associate. His Mum cut ties with her family before he was born. What little he knew about that side of the family was from listening to cutting remarks from his father. "Jumped up aliterate drudges from the back of beyond," was the tamest of his remarks.

Sighing briefly, he asked, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Yesterday morning at approximately 8:20, Petunia Dursley and her husband Vernon Dursley were in a car crash on the M25. Mr. Dursley was killed instantly. Mrs. Dursley was rushed to Whinging General Hospital. She is currently in Critical Care. Her condition is quite serious. The doctors are unsure if she will survive." "

Not to be crass, but why are you contacting me?"

"The Dursleys are guardians of two 10 year old boys, their son Dudley and their nephew Harry Potter. Harry is the son of Lily Potter, Petunia's sister. Marjorie Dursley, Vernon's sister, has taken temporary custody of Dudley. Should Petunia Dursley succumb to her injuries, Miss Dursley will have permanent custody of the child. She has refused to have anything to do with Harry. Last night he was placed in emergency foster care. I've spent most of the last day trying to track down Harry's relatives."

Wesley glanced at the glass of scotch still in his hands, "Surely, there is someone more suitable. I've never even heard of the boy."

"The Dursleys haven't updated their wills since shortly after their son was born. Lily and James Potter died on October 31, 1993 in Godric's Hollow. They had no will on file. I haven't been able to locate any information on James Potter's family. You and your mother are the only other members of the Evans family still living. Unless Petunia recovers or regains consciousness long enough to relay her wishes in regards to Harry's guardianship, you or your mother are all he has. If the worst should happen and the two of you refuse guardianship, Harry's only alternative is foster care."

His parents were not an option. Even if they were to agree, which they wouldn't, Harry would have a horrible time in his father's household. A child with an unknown father and an Evans for a mother. No, he would be better off in foster care than in the care of his parents.

Wesley knew if his cousin Petunia died, Harry's only real possibility was himself or foster care. The thought of him raising a child was horrifying. He had been fired three times. Failed two Slayers. Failed Connor. Been told never to return to the Hyperion by the woman he loved (he ignored her hypocrisy in asking for help during the summer). He'd had his throat cut and been left for dead. Been smothered with a pillow by a friend. And was currently sleeping with the enemy. He had no business taking care of a child.

Foster Care. Could he send a member of his family to foster care? While he knew logically that there were plenty of decent foster parents, there was no guarantee that Harry would end up with one of them. Could he justify it?

Duty.

His whole life had revolved around it. Duty to the Council. To his Slayers. To Angel. To protect the world from supernatural threats. Again and again he had failed his duties. Could he afford to fail in his duties to his family? Was he willing to let a young boy suffer for his failure?

"I'll catch a flight to England as soon as I can. I likely won't be able to get there until tomorrow. I'm assuming Harry has somewhere safe to spend the night?"

"Yes, he can stay with the same foster family as last night." Wesley quickly wrote down all the information he needed before hanging up the phone.

A child. He was actually considering taking care of a child. While he knew that there was a chance that Petunia would recover, he couldn't make plans under that assumption. So, if he became Harry's permanent guardian, what then? Bring him to LA? The child would have just been orphaned for the second time. Should he really have to deal with an entire different country along with a stranger for a guardian?

Did Wesley have any real reason to stay in LA? He'd succeeded in rescuing Angel from the bottom of the ocean and had given him all the information he had been able to find about Cordelia's disappearance. His former comrades wanted nothing to do with him. His lover, Lilah, wanted nothing more than to recruit him to Wolfram and Hart.

All LA had was a reminder of his past failures.

Back to England, than, and if Petunia recovers…Well, a new start suddenly sounded very good. Maybe this time he might just succeed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Reminder:** The Potter-verse has been moved up by 12 years.

Thanks again to the livejournal community little_details and my beta deiticlast for all of their help.

**Chapter 2**

**September 4, 2002**

Wesley sighed deeply as he followed the signs for the M25 in his rental car. This was not how he had hoped to return to England. Was it really only three and a half years since he left with bravado and egotistical pride? All that arrogance and bluster in a poor attempt to hide his fear and lack of experience. In the futile hope that he might one day be seen as worthy in his father's eyes.

Strange that on returning in failure thrice over, it was not his father's stern face that haunted him the most. For such a brief time he had had a real home and family. One built not by blood, but by camaraderie and respect. Purpose. All gone now.

He had packed up his flat and made arrangements for his things to be sent once he found a new place to stay. He had even secretly returned to the Hyperion to retrieve the rest of his books. That chapter of his life was over.

It was still unclear what this new chapter would bring. He didn't even know if he was going to be the permanent guardian of Harry. His unknown cousin, Petunia, could recover from her injuries. Marjorie Dursley might change her mind about taking custody of the boy. Members of the Potter family could be found. Petunia could regain consciousness long enough to assign a different guardian for Harry.

As he pulled into a parking spot near the address the case worker had given for her office, he tried to put aside his doubts. He didn't know what the future would hold. What he did know was that he had promised to take temporary custody of a ten year old boy.

The Bohg'dar demons from yesterday sounded less terrifying. At least he knew what to do when faced with the three-horned demon.

Sadly, decapitation wasn't an option when dealing with small boys. Unless they were Petra'Panith demons.

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, I'm Lorraine Hughes. We spoke on the phone yesterday." Miss Hughes was a plain woman, probably only a few years older than him, with light brown hair. She looked thin and frail, but her handshake was firm.

"Miss Hughes." As he sat in the chair by her desk he asked, " Has there been any improvement in Mrs. Dursley's condition?"

"I'm afraid not. For privacy reasons I haven't been given details on her medical condition. What I do know is that she received severe trauma to the chest and head and is currently intubated and sedated. The nurses I have talked to have implied that her condition has gotten worse in the last 24 hours."

"Have you been able to find any other relatives of Harry?"

"Only you and your mother."

Wesley always felt better when dealing with facts. "What have you found out about his parents?"

Miss Hughes began looking through an open file folder on her desk. He could see what looked like copies of a number of official documents inside the folder. "Lily Nicola Evans' birth certificate states that she was born on the 30th of January 1972 in the town of Cokeworth. Her parents were Keith and Sylvia Evans. They died in a car crash in 1991. Keith Evans only had one sibling, your Mother. Sylvia Evans had two brothers. Terence Cox died in 1965 during the Indonesia-Malaysia conflict. Nigel Cox died of blood loss in 1975 after being mugged in London. There is a marriage certificate on file at the General Registry Office for Lily and James Brayden Potter (age 19) for the 15th of March 1991. This is the first record I have found for James Potter. Harry James Potter's birth certificate states that he was born in his home in Godric's Hollow on the 31st of July 1992. According to the death certificates both Lily and James died of smoke inhalation at their home on 31st of October 1993. "

"They died at home. Was Harry hurt?"

"According to the police records, Harry was staying with friends of the family that night."

"Friends? Have you checked with them for information about James Potter's family?"

She gave a wry smile before answering, "It's a good idea. Unfortunately, the police records do not list the name or address of the people looking after Harry that night. I've tried to contact a Mr. Al Bee, the person who wrote the report. I had hoped he might either have kept notes from that night or remembered more details. Sadly, I haven't been able to find him." As she looked back down at her desk, Wesley could not help but notice how tired she looked. "The death certificate does give Mr. Potter's birth date, the 27th of March 1972. No occupation was listed for either of the Potters. And as I mentioned on the phone, no will for the Potters have been found. I also looked for school records in the hopes of finding more information about Harry's parents. I could only find Lily's primary school records. There are no A-level exams on file for Lily Evans or a James Brayden Potter with the birth date of 27th of March 1972."

"The scarcity of records, especially for James Potter seems strange."

She shrugged, "Records are occasionally lost or misfiled. It's also possible that they went to school abroad."

"Could I have a copy of what you have found? I worked as a private detective while I was in Los Angeles. I might be able to find out more."

"Of course."

"What can you tell me about Harry?"

"He's ten years old. He just started Year 6 at Magnolia Primary School on Monday, the day of the accident. I've looked over his school records. His end of Year 5 assessment placed him at Level 2 in a number of subjects. Math and English seemed to be giving him the most difficulty. This is based on the NC, National Curriculum. Ideally, students starting Year 6 should be at Level 3 and end the year at Level 4. Also at the end of Year 6, he will be taking the SATs. His teachers also noted in his file that he is quiet in class and doesn't appear to have any friends. There has been some concern about his socialization. Personally, I found Harry polite, but withdrawn. Not unexpected, given the circumstances."

Questions raced through Wesley's mind. Socialization? Were the teachers overreacting or was there a real problem? How does one treat socialization problems? It could be nothing. Had the Watcher's Academy cared about such things, he would probably have had "socialization problems" written in his file somewhere. Wincing internally, it probably was an accurate description for him back then. In his minds-eye he saw Cordelia, but not the short haired blond that he had last seen. This Cordelia had long brown hair and a vitality and strength of spirit that years of visions had drained away. His mental image of Cordelia spoke, "Like you're so much better, now. Social-butterfly you are not, Watcher-boy."

Mentally shaking his head, the child's socialization and school work, while important, were not today's problem. Wesley asked, "And where is Harry now? The Hospital?"

"Children under the age of 12 are not allowed in Mrs. Dursley's Ward. Yesterday and today Harry went to school." She pulled out another file folder from a file cabinet beside her. "You have just enough time to file out these forms."

He could feel his hand cramping just looking at the large stack of forms he was supposed to fill out. Apparently the "paperless society" that people always talked about and his inner-bibliophile secretly feared was an urban myth.

He definitely preferred Bohg'dar demons.


End file.
